Method for gasification of carbon-containing materials by thermal decomposition of methane and conversion of carbon dioxide

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a method for gasification of carbon-containing materials, and more specifically, to a method for gasification of carbon-containing materials which allows an increase in carbon efficiency and a reduction in carbon dioxide emission, comprising the steps of: gasification of carbon-containing materials to methane; thermal decomposition of CH 4  to C and H 2 ; and conversion of CO 2  to CO using the carbon produced during the decomposition. The method of the present invention greatly increases carbon efficiency and reduces the generation of carbon dioxide.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method of gasifying a carbonaceous material and, more particularly, to a method of gasifying a carbon-containing material, which is capable of increasing carbon efficiency and decreasing the generation of carbon dioxide.

BACKGROUND ART

With the drastic development of society since the 20^(th) century, the supply and demand for energy has become unstable and environmental problems such as global warming have come to the fore, and thus attempts to use a type of fossil energy which is environmentally friendly continue, and thorough research into manufacturing processes for producing fuel that never causes environmental pollution is ongoing. Particularly instead of the direct combustion of coal, which causes severe environmental pollution, efforts are being made to convert coal into a gas fuel such as synthetic gas (which is a mixture comprising hydrogen, carbon monoxide, etc.), which is called gasification.

That is, the term gasification means that solid/liquid fuel including carbon as a basic component, such as coal, petroleum coke, biomass, etc., reacts with a gas such as oxygen, Steam, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen, thus producing combustible gases such as CO, H₂ and CH₄. This process is mainly carried out under conditions of high temperature and high pressure in order to maximize gasification capacity and efficiency, and the produced combustible gases are used as fuel gas for power generation or as feedstock for chemical products or synthetic petroleum via a methanol synthesis process, an NH₃ Synthesis process and a Fischer-Tropsch synthesis process, or hydrogen is maximally produced and utilized as a hydrogen source in the hydrothreating and the hydrocracking of crude oil.

A typical gasification system enables coal or other carbon-containing materials to react with steam and oxygen (or air) to produce a synthetic gas composed mainly of hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

FIG. 1 schematically shows a conventional gasification process. CTL (Coal-to-Liquids) using the conventional gasification process is described below.

Specifically, Steam, oxygen and coal are fed into a gasifier. The fed coal reacts with H₂O and oxygen in the gasifier, thus generating a product including H₂, CO, CO₂, etc. The reactions in the gasifier are as follows. C+H₂O→CO+H₂ C+CO₂→2CO C+O₂→CO₂

The product generated in the gasifier is subjected to removal of particulate materials, Hg and NOx and then removal of acid gas to eliminate H₂S and CO₂. Subsequently, the produced gases are selectively subjected to the water-gas shift process like that below so that they are used for F-T synthesis reaction or MeOH synthesis reaction, and the remaining H₂ is used alone.

<Water-Gas Shift Reaction> CO+H₂O→H₂+CO₂

<F-T Reaction> CO+2H₂→—(CH₂)_(n)—+H₂O

<Methanol (MeOH) Synthesis> CO+2H₂→CH₃OH

In the case where such a typical steam/oxygen gasifier is used, carbon gasification (C+H₂O→H₂+CO or C+CO₂→2CO) is very highly endothermic, and thus the heat value corresponding thereto should be supplied by the combustion reaction of carbon (C+O₂→CO₂). Hence, part of the hydrocarbon used as the feed is converted into carbon dioxide following combustion inside or outside the gasifier. After gasification, in the case where the synthetic gas generated from the gasifier is subjected to a water-gas shift process so that the ratio of H₂/CO in a synthetic gas that is stoichiometrically required for F-T synthesis or methanol production is set to 2, the theoretical carbon efficiency of the overall process is less than 49.8%, and the generation of CO₂ is calculated to be 0.502 mol CO₂/mol C or more. Here, the following definition of carbon efficiency is used. Carbon efficiency(%)=(mol of CO in synthetic gas having H₂/CO of 2˜2.1)×100/mol of carbon of gasification feed

Gasification 1.0C + 1.0H₂O --> 1.0H₂ + 1.0CO Combustion 0.34C + 0.34O₂ --> 0.34CO₂ Water-gas Shift 0.33CO + 0.33H₂O --> 0.33H₂ + 0.33CO₂ Overall Reaction 1.34C + 1.33H₂O + 0.34O₂ --> 1.33H₂ + 0.67CO + 0.67CO₂

Such low carbon efficiency decreases the profitability of CTL (Coal-to-Liquids). Also in order to reduce the generation of greenhouse gas CO₂, there is a need for an additional and very expensive facility in order to capture and store CO₂, making it difficult to construct profitable commercial plants.

Korean Patent Publication No. 2008-0041635 discloses an alkali metal catalytic steam gasification method using a CO₂ trap material and/or a mineral binder material in a gas generator. In order to increase the activity of the catalyst in the above patent, the CO₂ trap material for forming CO₂ into solid carbonate or bicarbonate is used but CO₂ cannot be converted into actually usable materials such as CO or the like. Furthermore, the above patent is problematic because a specific catalyst is used and a CO₂ trap material such as CaO or the like is additionally required.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

Culminating in the present invention, intensive and thorough research aiming to solve the problems occurring in the related all resulted in the finding that thermal decomposition of methane may be additionally conducted after a gasification step using a catalyst, and part or all of the carbon thus generated may be recirculated to the gasification step, thereby increasing the carbon efficiency upon gasification, and also CO₂ conversion may be additionally performed to reduce the generation of CO₂.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a process for gasifying a carbon-containing material, comprising decomposing methane and converting CO₂ in order to achieve a high carbon efficiency and reduce the generation of CO₂.

Technical Solution

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a method of gasifying a carbon-containing material, comprising i) reacting the carbon-containing material with steam in the presence of a catalyst thus producing a gas product including CO, H₂, CO₂, CH₄ and H₂O; ii) thermally decomposing C₁₋₁₄ generated in i) into C and H₂; and iii) converting CO₂ generated in i) into CO using the product of i) or ii).

Also the method may further comprise recirculating the carbon generated in to i) which gasifies the carbon-containing material.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present invention, the gasification method can achieve a high carbon efficiency of 63˜73%, and can generate a remarkably decreased amount of CO₂ on the scale of 0.4 mol CO₂/mol C or less.

Also, additional devices and facilities for capturing and storing CO₂ are not required, thus making performing the process simple and cheap.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a typical gasification process using Steam-oxygen gasification;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a gasification process according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the gasification process according to the present invention using a carbon-carbon dioxide gasification reaction for the carbon dioxide conversion;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the gasification process according to the present invention using a reverse water-gas shift reaction for the carbon dioxide conversion;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the gasification process according to the present invention using a CO₂ hydrogenation reaction for the carbon dioxide conversion; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the gasification process according to the present invention using a CO₂ reforming reaction for the carbon dioxide conversion.

BEST MODE

Hereinafter, a detailed description will be given of the present invention with reference to the appended drawings.

The present invention provides a method of gasifying a carbon-containing material, which comprises methane decomposition and carbon dioxide conversion, in addition to typical catalytic gasification.

The present invention provides a method of gasifying a carbon-containing material, comprising i) reacting the carbon-containing material with steam in the presence of a catalyst, thus producing a gas product including CO, CO₂, CH₄, H₂O and H₂; thermally decomposing CH₄ generated in i) into C and H₂; and converting CO₂ generated in i) into CO using the product of i) or ii).

FIG. 2 schematically shows the process according to the present invention.

Specifically, the carbon-containing material is introduced to a gasification step along with H₂O and a catalyst. As such, the catalyst may be a typical catalyst for gasification of a carbon-containing material, but is desirably a catalyst including alkali metal or alkaline earth metal. Typical examples of the alkali metal component may be Li, Na, K, Cs, Mg, Ca, etc., and the alkaline earth metal may be Mg, Ca, etc. The catalyst may be a hydroxide, oxide or salt of the above single metal, but may be used in a mixture of two or more metals. Such a metal component may be combined with a general gasification catalyst.

In the gasification step, the following reactions take place, so that H₂, CO, CH₄, CO₂, etc., are produced.

Gasification: C+H₂O→H₂+GO, C+CO₂→2CO

Water-gas shift: CO+H₂O→H₂+CO₂

Methanation: CO+3H₂→CH₄+H₂O

Overall Reaction: C+H₂O→0.5CH₄+0.5CO₂

The product of the gasification step is H₂, CO, CH₄, and CO₂ including H₂O, and the product except for H₂O comprises 20˜25 vol % of CH₄, 20˜25 vol % of CO₂, and a remainder of H₂ and CO. The ratio of H₂ and CO may vary depending on the amount of steam introduced into a gasifier. In the case where the ratio of steam to carbon in the gasifier is 1, H₂/CO may be about 1, and in the case where the ratio of steam to carbon is 2, H₂/CO may be about 4. More specifically, according to the results of operating the pilot plant available from Exxon, when the ratio of H₂O/C is 1.65, the amount of CH₄ of the product may be about 21 vol %, and H₂/CO may be about 3˜4 [Science. 215 (4529), 1982, DOE Report, 1987 (DOE/ER-0326)].

In the case where the ratio of CO relative to H₂ in the gasification product is 3, the composition of the gasification product except for H₂O includes 43.5 vol % of H₂, 14.5 vol % of CO, 21 vol % of CH₄, and 21 vol % of CO₂.

In the product of the gasification step, H₂ and CO may be recirculated to the gasification step. Although the amount of H₂ and CO which are recirculated is not particularly limited, it may fall in the range of 30˜70% based on the total amount. If the recirculated amount is too large, improvements in the efficiency according to the present invention may reduce. In contrast, if the recirculated amount is too low, the operation of the gasifier may not be feasible.

In the method, i) may be catalytic gasification but the present invention is not limited thereto, and a gasification process wherein 10 vol % or more of methane is present in the gasification product may be applied.

The gasification method according to the present invention includes decomposing CH₄ generated in the above gasification step. The decomposition of CH₄ involves any process including thermal decomposition and catalytic cracking. Part or all of the carbon produced upon thermal decomposition of CH₄ may be recirculated to the gasification step. When carbon generated upon thermal decomposition of CH₄ is recirculated and used as the feed, the carbon efficiency in the gasification reaction may be increased.

H₂ generated upon CH₄ decomposition may increase the H₂ proportion of the synthetic gas which is the gasification product, and C generated upon CH₄ decomposition may be used as a reactant for conversion of CO₂ or as a fuel for supplying heat of reaction demanded for gasification.

The CH₄ decomposition reaction is endothermic, and the heat of reaction necessary therefor may be obtained by using, as fuel, carbon generated in the same process. CH₄→C+2H₂(ΔH=18.0 Kcal/mol) C+O₂→CO₂(ΔH=−93.8 Kcal/mol)

Next, the gasification method according to the present invention includes converting CO₂ generated in the gasification step or the like, e.g., into CO or CH₃OH or F-T products. As such, the reaction for converting CO₂ may be any reaction for converting CO₂, including a C—CO₂ gasification reaction (C+CO₂→2CO), a reverse water-gas shift reaction (H₂+CO₂→CO+H₂O), a CO₂ hydrogenation reaction (n CO₂+3n H₂→(CH₂)_(n)—+2n H₂O, CO₂+3H₂CH₃OH +H₂O), and a CO₂ reforming reaction (CO₂+CH₄→2CO+2H₂). The reactant used for converting CO₂ may be the product obtained in any one from i) to iii).

In this case, the kind of CO₂ conversion reaction used may be appropriately selected depending on the amount of converted carbon or the process conditions where the above reaction is applied. For example, when all of carbons produced upon CH₄ decomposition are recirculated to the gasification step, CO₂ may be converted via a reverse water-gas shift reaction or a hydrogenation reaction.

Also, H₂ and CO produced upon CO₂ conversion may be recirculated to the gasification step.

Produced by the gasification method according to the present invention, H₂ and CO may be utilized for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis or methanol synthesis, and H₂ itself may be produced as a product.

Also, the gasification method according to the present invention may further include performing a water-gas shift reaction (CO+H₂O→H₂+CO₂) using H₂ and CO produced in respective steps, after CO₂ conversion.

The carbon-containing material used for the gasification method according to the present invention may include coal, biomass, waste, heavy oil, petroleum coke, etc., but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The method may further comprise performing gas separation after step i), which gasifies the carbon-containing material.

EXAMPLE

The method according to the present invention was performed at 650˜700□ under a pressure of 35 atm using an alkali metal catalyst. Also, the ratio of H₂/Co in a final product was adjusted to 2 so that the final product was adapted for a Fischer-Tropsch reaction and a methanol production reaction.

Comparative Example

In a conventional gasification process of FIG. 1, a carbon-containing material was reacted with H₂O and O₂ in a gasification step thus producing CO, H₂, CO₂, etc. Subsequently, Hg, NOx, etc., were removed from the gas product obtained in the gasification step, followed by removing the acid gas (i.e. CO₂ and sulfuric acid gas etc.). The gas product without Hg, NOx and acid gas was reacted with Steam (CO+H₂O→H₂+CO₂). In the case where the ratio of H₂/CO is adjusted to 2 via a water-gas shift reaction, the material balance of carbon in the comparative example is approximately represented below. C(+H₂O+O₂)→H₂+0.5CO+0.5CO₂

In this case, the carbon efficiency was 49.8%, and the amount of generated CO₂ was 0.502 mol/mol C.

Example 1

In the present example shown FIG. 3, 50% of H₂ and CO in the gas product obtained in circulated to i). None of carbon generated in recirculated to i), and the total carbon was used as a heat source for CH₄ decomposition of or was fed to). In the present example, C—CO₂ gasification (C+CO₂→2CO) was applied in iii). The gas produced in and fed to iii) was reacted with CO₂ produced in i), thus producing CO.

Specifically, H₂, CO and CO₂ were produced in i), and H₂ was produced in ii), and CO was produced in iii). The present example is schematically shown in FIG. 3.

The material balance of carbon in the present example is represented below. 1.00C(+H₂O)→1.29H₂+0.63CO+0.37CO₂

When the ratio of H₂ and CO which are finally produced in the present example was about 2.1, the carbon efficiency was about 62.7%, and the amount of generated CO₂ was about 0.374 mol/mol C, which were great improvements compared to when conventional steam-oxygen gasification was used.

Example 2

In this example shown in FIG. 4, a reverse water-gas shift reaction (H₂+CO₂→CO+H₂O) was used for the CO₂ conversion. According thereto, 50% of H₂ and CO of the gas product obtained in i) was recirculated to i). 80.8% of carbon generated in ii) was recirculated to i), and the remainder thereof was used as a heat source for CH₄ decomposition, and part of generated H₂ was fed to iii).

The hydrogen produced in and fed to iii) was reacted with CO₂ produced i), thus obtaining CO and H₂O. Finally, H₂, CO and CO₂ produced in i), H₂ produced in ii), and CO produced in iii) resulted in a synthetic gas wherein the ratio of H₂/CO was 2.

The material balance of carbon in the present example is represented below. 1.00C(+H₂O)→1.47H₂+0.73CO+0.27CO₂

In this case, the carbon efficiency was about 73.3%, and the amount of generated CO₂ was about 0.267 mol/mol C, which were great improvements compared to when conventional steam-oxygen gasification was used.

Example 3

This example shown in FIG. 5 was performed by repeating Example 2, with the exception that CO₂ hydrogenation (CO₂+3H₂→—(CH₂)—+2H₂O, CO₂+3H₂→CH₂OH+H₂O) was used for the CO₂ conversion.

Example 4

In the present example, a CO₂ reforming reaction (CO₂+CH₄→2CO+2H₂) was used for the CO₂ conversion.

Example 4 is schematically shown in FIG. 6. H₂ and CO produced in a gasification step of a carbon-containing material (i)) were recirculated in an amount of 50% as in the above example. Part of the methane produced in the gasification of the carbon-containing material was fed to a step of thermal decomposition of CH₄ (ii)), and part of the carbon thus produced was used as fuel to supply heat necessary for CH₄ decomposition and the remainder thereof was used as fuel to supply heat necessary for CO₂ reforming in iii).

The remainder of CH₄ produced in the gasification step of the carbon-containing material to the CO₂ conversion step in order to use it to convert CO₂. Upon converting CO₂, CO₂ was reacted with CH₄ to produce CO and H₂. The material balance of carbon in the present example is represented below. 1.00C(+H_(2l O)→)1.29H₂+0.63CO+0.37CO₂

In the present example, when the synthetic gas wherein the ratio of H₂/CO was 2.1 was finally produced, the carbon efficiency of about 62.8%, and the amount of generated CO₂ was about 0.372 mol/mol C. The carbon efficiency was greatly increased and the generation of CO₂ was remarkably decreased compared to when using conventional Steam-oxygen gasification.

The comparative example using typical gasification and Examples 1 to 4 according to the present invention are given in Table 1 below.

TABLE 1 C. Ex. Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 C Efficiency 49.8 62.7 73.3 73.3 62.8 (%) CO₂ 0.502 0.374 0.267 0.267 0.372 Generation (CO₂ mol/mol C) CO₂ No C—CO₂ Reverse Hydro- CO₂ Conversion Gasification Water-gas genation Reforming shift

As is apparent from Table 1, in Examples 1 to 4 using the method according to the present invention, the carbon efficiency was much higher and the generation of CO₂ was remarkably lower, compared to the comparative example using typical gasification.

In respective examples, the ratio of H₂/CO was adjusted to 2˜2.1, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. For example, when the ratio of H₂/CO is 4, hydrogen is in excess, and hydrogen that remains after Fischer-Tropsch synthesis or methanol synthesis may be produced alone as a product, and does not limit the present invention.

Also, a variety of materials may be used, and only the material balance of carbon was applied for the sake of convenience, but taking into consideration any original composition CxHyOz of the material, it appears that the carbon efficiency is further increased and the generation of CO₂ is further decreased.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that a variety of different modifications and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims. Accordingly, such modifications and substitutions should also be understood as falling within the scope of the present invention. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of gasifying a carbon-containing material, comprising: i) reacting the carbon-containing material with steam in the presence of a catalyst comprising a hydroxide, an oxide or a salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal, or a mixture thereof, to produce a gas product including CO, CO₂, CH₄, H₂O and H₂, in which the ratio of steam to carbon is in a range of 1 to 2; ii) thermally decomposing CH₄ generated in step i) into elemental carbon and H₂, with at least a part of the elemental carbon generated being recirculated to step i); and iii) converting CO₂ generated in step i) into (a) CO through a reverse water-gas shift reaction, a CO₂ reforming reaction, or a C—CO₂ gasification reaction, and/or (b) into —(CH₂)_(n)— or CH₃OH through a CO₂ hydrogenation reaction using the product of step i) or step ii); wherein 30 to 70% of the total amount of H₂ and CO contained in the as product of step i) is recirculated back to step i).
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising recirculating H₂ generated in step ii) back to step i).
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising recirculating H₂ and CO generated in step iii) back to step i).
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising recirculating H₂ and CO generated in step iii) back to step i).
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing gas separation, after step i) which gasifies the carbon-containing material.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing a water-gas shift reaction, after step iii).
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the carbon-containing material is coal, biomass, waste, heavy oil, or petroleum coke.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the gas product except for H₂O generated in step i) comprises 20 to 25 vol. % of CH₄, 20 to 25 vol. % of CO₂ and a remainder of H₂ and CO, the ratio of H₂/CO being in a range of 1 to
 4. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the carbon efficiency is in a range of 63 to 73%.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the amount of CO₂ generated is 0.4 mol CO₂/mol C or less. 